Foster Pond near Elmira: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  This water sits in Chemung County, New York. The surface lies 869 feet up. Some 0.9 miles away sits Elmira, the nearest settlement. Then West Elmira, 1.2 miles, and Southport, 1.9 miles. Also worth knowing: Miller Pond 1.7 miles, 2.1 miles out stands Weyer Pond, Eldridge Lake 2.2 miles, 2.4 miles out stands Elmira Reservoir and Lowe Pond 6.4 miles. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Foster Pond

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Species logged across Chemung County include common carp, green sunfish, smallmouth bass and white sucker. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Work Foster Pond in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 69°F and January about 23°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near late March. Ice usually gives way near late March, and forms again about late December. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Anyone fishing Foster Pond regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. A ramp at Grove Street Boat Launch is mapped half a mile away. There is recorded parking some half a mile off. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Miller Pond, 1.7 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Foster Pond is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.